Friday, May 7, 2010

My husband took some pictures and videos of me riding Limerick this past Sunday. She was being a goofball and the goal of the ride was to just keep her steady and calm. I succeeded...somewhat. Typically, I make her work hard if she acts silly but on this day, the footing didn't allow for it--outside or in.

We started in the outdoor arena, which was a slop from the heavy rains over the past couple days.

Telling my husband that I'm going to head indoors because the footing is just horrid.

A not-so-nice trot. She kept trying to either walk or canter here, so I had to work to get her moving at a steady pace. She sprinkled in a couple clownish head shakes, too--one directed at some pigeons nearby.

Here, I'm encouraging her to give me a nice, quiet canter. As mentioned before, if she's being silly then I normally make her work hard but today, the footing was just too awful for that. Instead, I went for the "let's attempt a slow, quiet canter" approach. It worked...for a short time! Then she decided to throw out another goofball move.

(Right before she acts silly, you can see a huge wet spot on the arena footing. For whatever reason, this spot was making her act up. She even jumped the entire thing the first time I tried to canter over it)

Finally, I decided to give up on the cantering and brought her back down to a trot. She eventually gave me a nice, forward trot with no silliness and I called it a day!

About Heidi

I have always been inspired by the beauty of Thoroughbreds, and my best muse is my off-track Thoroughbred mare, Limerick (registered as Amanda Bry). I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband and four cats, and I am a writer for a local business and a freelance photo essayist. Follow me on Twitter at @AmandaBry91